Head brewer Ro Guenzel talks a bit about the origins of Smokejumper, brewed in tribute to the men and women who travel the country dropping into rough terrain to aid fire firefighters, in a new promotional video.

Once your faithful First Drafts correspondents recovered from our weekend trek to the 2012 Boulder Strong Ale Fest and compared notes, there was one beer that kept popping up at the tops of our “best of fest” lists: Surly Five.

As it turns out, the 500 or so attendees of the 10th annual fest hosted by Avery Brewing were lucky to get a taste of the 100 percent Brettanomyces-fermented sour that manages a fruity tang without the vinegar.

Surly’s head brewer Todd Haug says there aren’t plans to distribute outside of Minnesota for at least two years. In fact, the brewery had to pull out of Illinois, Wisconsin and the Dakotas after popular demand outstripped their production capacity.

Five was also brewed for Surly’s fifth anniversary, making it even more of a rarity.

Long-running video blog Beer America TV hopes to catch a network’s eye with the help of a Boulder-based production company and an assist from Colorado’s own Oskar Blues.

As we speak (write?), Boulder’s Warren Miller Entertainment is pitching networks on a series that would profile a craft brewery from each U.S. region and follow them as they vie for the gold at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival in Denver. And among the first batch of brewers would be can kings Oskar Blues, featured in the somewhat salty promo reel above.

Success for the show could mean higher profiles for Colorado beer, said Ginger Tatic of Warren Miller.

[media-credit name=”Lew Cady, Special to the Denver Post” align=”aligncenter” width=”495″][/media-credit]

Great American Beer Fest fixture Danny Williams in his legendary gold mine-turned-beer cellar outside of Boulder in 2008.

Everyone knew that Great American Beer Festival stalwart Danny Williams was terminally ill, but his death last week of cancer at the age of 52 still took his friends by surprise.

The man with the legendary gold mine-turned-beer cellar who became a Colorado craft beer institution hid his condition very well as he focused on meeting with friends in the last weeks of his life, according to GABF volunteer Diana Vann.

Breweries have donated dozens of auction items like a New Belgium cruiser and more than 20 kegs — including some of Russian River’s much coveted Pliny the Younger — so Williams’ friends and admirers can raise a pint to celebrate his life.

“He did not want to have a funeral or a wake or memorial service,” Vann said. “He wanted it to be a party. And all the money is going back to Danny for his estate.”

Danny Williams, craft beer institution and Great American Beer Fest stalwart, dies of cancer at age 52.

NOTE: This story was written by Mitchell Byars of the Boulder Daily Camera.

Danny Williams, who was the cellar master for the Great American Beer Festival for more than a decade and was well known in the Colorado beer industry, died Monday night at his home at the age of 52 after a battle with cancer, according to family friends.

From his job handling almost 4,000 brews for the Great American Beer Festival to the gold mine he converted into a beer cellar at his Sunshine Canyon home, Williams was legendary in the Colorado beer industry.

“He was pretty unforgettable,” said friend Mike Bryant. “Anyone that met him never forgot him. He was a good, genuine person who wanted to help everybody.”

Rueben Verplank, the owner of Rueben’s Burger Bistro, said Williams was one of the most likeable people he knew.

“Picture in your head the guy you would like to sit down and have a beer with, and that was Danny,” Verplank said. “He was friendly, outgoing and he loved everybody. No one was more fun to be around.”

Our new iPad app serves as a guide to metro Denver’s bountiful breweries, beer bars and bottle shops, the holy trinity of craft beer enjoyment for followers and fans. Download the app for iPad .
Next time you head for a beer in Boulder, don’t forget your friend, Beers of Boulder and Boulder County, an iPad app from the Daily Camera. Download the app for iPad .

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In Colorado, our pint glasses overflow with excellent beer. New breweries, new batches, festivals every other week. How lucky are we? First Drafts is The Denver Post's beer blog aimed at helping you keep tabs on the state's ever-expanding craft beer culture. We offer a mash of news, event coverage, homegrown stories, tasting notes and tips to help you imbibe. Expert drinker or homebrewer? Let us know what you're loving about Colorado's beer scene. Not sure exactly what a firkin is? No worries, let us be your guide. Go ahead. Belly up and drink it in!